Posted by Jason Sobel
Entering Sunday, Scott Verplank hadn't won a PGA Tour event since the 2001 Bell Canadian Open, though he wasn't exactly playing bad golf during that span.
Although it took nearly six full years and spanned 138 tournament starts, the winless streak also wrought five straight seasons in the top 50 on the money list, three Ryder or Presidents cup team berths and more than $10 million in earnings.
The Byron Nelson Championship victory should serve as inspiration to at least 13 current players whose most recent PGA Tour title came before Verplank's last one.
Excluding players who have never won and those who haven't consistently been on tour each year since their last victory, let's look at other players whose winless streaks are older than the one Verplank snapped Sunday:
• Billy Andrade: His last of four career wins came at the 2000 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, but Andrade has come close a handful of times since then, with four runner-up finishes, one each in 2001, '02, '05 and '06.
• Paul Azinger: Did you know that, despite a schedule that included plenty of time in the TV booth in recent years, Azinger has competed in at least 20 events in each season this decade? That surprised me. What didn't surprise me is that the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain hasn't won since the 2000 Sony Open (I knew that), though I wouldn't be surprised to see him contend for a title sometime this year.
• Mark Brooks: Well, if you're going to go 11 years and counting without a victory, it's nice to know that at least the last one was a big one. Brooks hasn't won since the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and based on this year's results -- one made cut in five starts -- it might not happen anytime soon.
• John Cook: His first of 11 wins came back in 1981, when the AT&T was still called the Crosby, and his last win came three weeks before Verplank's triumph in 2001 (at the Reno-Tahoe Open).
• David Duval: If this list were proffered in the form of a trivia question, this would be the one no-brainer for even the most casual fan. Since winning the 2001 British Open, Duval has never finished in even the top five again.
• Dudley Hart: The very definition of a tour grinder, Hart gets a few top-10s every year, makes $1 million or so, and plays some decent golf, but he still hasn't claimed a trophy since the 2000 Honda Classic.
• Lee Janzen: Like Brooks and Duval, Janzen's last win was also a major, the second of his two U.S. Open titles, in 1998 at Olympic.
• Tom Lehman: So close, so often, but eight of Lehman's 19 career second-place finishes have come since his last victory -- at the 2000 Phoenix Open. History isn't on his side, though. The last Ryder Cup captain to win after his stint in charge was Tom Watson (who captained the team in 1993 and triumphed at the 1996 Memorial and 1998 Colonial).
• Steve Lowery: After coming out on the losing side of that epic battle with Rich Beem at the 2002 International, Lowery still hasn't won since the 2000 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
• Billy Mayfair: He has played well in recent years, earning 11 top-10s since the beginning of the 2005 season, but Mayfair still hasn't found the winner's circle since the 1998 Buick Open.
• Jesper Parnevik: Maybe it's time to go back to the upturned hat and ultratight pants. Eh, maybe not. Parnevik has changed his wardrobe and his swing in recent years, but he still hasn't won since the 2001 Honda Classic.
• Tom Pernice Jr.: Looking for the next guy to cross his name off this list? Look no further than Pernice, who owned seven top-10s and earned almost $3 million a year ago. His last win came at the 2001 International, but his next one might be right around the corner.
• Steve Stricker: Who says, "Drive for show, putt for dough" is the professional golfer's motto? Long known as one of the top rock-rollers on tour, Stricker hasn't claimed a victory since winning six matches en route to the 2001 Accenture Match Play Championship in Australia.
Others who could be included on this list: Robert Damron, Glen Day, Steve Elkington, Bill Glasson, Steve Jones, Steve Lowery, Scott McCarron, Larry Mize, Dicky Pride, Duffy Waldorf and Lee Westwood.
